Various types of articles may be used in casting and molding processes to form internal cavities, channels and other open areas. One such article is a core that is typically discarded after one use and is often destroyed for removal from the casting. Common core materials include wax, ceramic materials, polymers, or sand combined with a binder. Patterns may also be used in casting and molding processes where the pattern is displaced by molten material to form a part. Other articles include sand molds. A box may be used to form the core, mold, pattern or other article. The box may be made from a variety of materials such as epoxy, wood or metal. The shape needed for the core, mold or pattern is created in the core, mold or pattern box such as through 3D machining of a solid block of material. Wood and epoxy boxes have limited useful lives and metal boxes are heavy and costly. Therefore, new methods and structures for core, mold and pattern boxes would be beneficial.
Accordingly, it is desirable to provide structures and methods for effective and economical core/mold/pattern boxes. Furthermore, other desirable features and characteristics of the present invention will become apparent from the subsequent detailed description of the invention and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings and this background of the invention.